Balcony sleeper



June 5, 1951 J. C. WILLIAMS BALCONY SLEEPER Filed Oct. 5, 1946 @iQ/M174*Patented June V5, 1951 BALCONY sLEEPER Joseph o.vvil1ia1`ns, santaMonica, oalif.

Application October 5, 1946, Serial No. 791,572

This invention is a balconyor porch sleeper providing for those desiringto sleepoutdoors, and is a provision for sun bathing.

An object of the invention is to provide an outdoor sleeper whichincorporates an attractive and narrow balcony which will receivearchitects approval in that itis compact'in width and length to avoidcumbersome appearance and which is large enough for a bed unit includinga laterally shiftable truck and an applied bed element.

Another object of the invention is to provide a balcony bed unit incombination with a wall having a Window into and from which a projectingportion of the bed may be easily shifted for access by the user, and bemoved out from the Window while in actual use or is empty so that, whendesired, the window may be closed.

Also, an object of the invention is to provide a balcony bed unit whichis materially Wider than the supporting balcony to afford ample restingarea; the bed being of such width that in its outer position the wallside of the bed still overhangs the window sill, the overhang beingnearly equal to the thickness of the wall. In this connection it is anaim of the invention to employ the window sill as a safe under supportfor the inwardly shifted bed side While a person may be sitting on orapplying downward pressure to it.

Further, an object of the invention is to provide that the inwardlyshifted bed unit will not accidentally shift out from the sill while aperson is sitting on the intruded side of the bed or is climbing ontothe bed for reclining thereon. A provision includes means which willeffect holding cooperation of the bed at the window sill as soon asWeight of the individual is placed on the side of the bed interposedover the inner side of the sill. Another purpose is to provide ayieldable means which will automatically release the bed from the sillwhen the effective load is shifted from the inner side of the bed-aswhen the occupant moves his Weight to the center of the bed.

Modications and adaptations may be resorted to within the scope, spiritand principles of the invention as claimed in conclusion hereof.

Figure 1 is a sectional plan of the Wall, the closed window and the bedin outer position on the balcony.

Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional elevation of the end of the bed unitintruded over the window sill.

As here disclosed a Wall W has a window open- 5 Claims. (Cl. 5-10) ingframe F of suitable height and long enough to permit interposition ofthe near side portion of a Abed having a stiff bottom board 2 over theWindow sill S, Fig. 2. Bedding 3 of any desired make-up is secured tothe top of the board and the latter is substantially counterbalancedby aspring hinge device 4, or its equivalent, fixed to the outer, uppercerner of a substantial truck preferably in the form of a box 5 forbedding or night clothing, etc. It will be seen that the bed boardconstitutes the top closure for the opentop box truck and can be tiltedup and outward from the sill for access to the trucks; which may ifdesired have a folding leaf 5a at one side.

The truck is slidably mounted, by way of rollers 6, on parallel guidetracks 'l xed on the floor of a balcony 8, which in carrying out oneobject of this invention, is slightly longer than the bed (which isconfined against end motion) and has a width sufciently Wider than thetruck to permit the bed and truck unit to shift bodily from an innerposition, Fig. 2, to the outer position, Fig. 1, so that the bedoccupant may sleep wholly outdoors and enabling the Window sash X to beclosed. A stop 9 Will limit outward shift of the truck, and an innerstop l0 will limit in- Ward shift thereof.

Means are provided to prevent the bed from shifting outward While anindividual may be sitting on or applying sufcient weight to the sideportion of the bed at the time that it is located over the sill S. Thismeans may be in the form of any desired depressible or cushioning devicewhich will normally hold the bed board 2 just high enough to clear thesill S as the empty or unloaded inner side of the bed is moved to orfrom the sill. The elevating or cushioning means here includes a springdevice l I on the truck and supporting the board in the desired elevatedposition. When the inner, bed side is in a position over the sill S itwill clear the sill for free movement until enough down- Ward pressureis applied to set the board on the sill face and the resultant frictionwill be enough to retain the bed at the sill until the effective load isremovedas will be the case when the occupant climbs or rolls to thecenter of the bed, when the spring device Il will automatically releasethe board from the sill. To positively insure interlock of the bed tothe sill there is shown a rigid cleat I2 on the under face of the board2 and which normally clears the sill top for free shift of the bed unit.When a load is applied to the bed part over the sill the cleat descendsenough to lock inwardly against the sill shoulder Sh.

As soon as the bed board 2 is free the occupant of the bed can easilyshift the whole bed unit out to the limit so that the window X may beclosed.

The bed unit is in no manner hitched to the balcony structure and cantherefore at any time be bodily lifted from the balcony for storage inextremely bad weather.

It isl understood that the elevating cushion may take any of equivalentfunctioning means and the spring device Il may be attached to the bedboard 2 if preferred.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination, with a Wall having a "winfdow, of a support outsidesaid wall andadjacent said window, a truck carried upon said support formovement toward and away from said window, a bed structure having oneedge hinged to and supported by said truck, the other edge of said bedstructure projecting through said window and over the sill, yieldingmeans on said truck supporting said other edge of said bed structureabove the windowgsill when said bed is unoccupied, and means on said bedstructure adapted to engage saidV window sill through depression of saidyielding means when said bed is occupied, to prevent accidental outwardshift of said bed structure.

2. The combination of claim 1; and means limiting the outward movementof the truck at a position where the extending side of the bed willstill be in a position over the outer portion of the sill.

3. The combination of claim 1; said means including a lug on the freeside of the said structure adapted to interlock with the window sillwhen the structure is depressed.

4. The combination of claim 1; the truck being of open-top boX form and'the bed structure forming a closure therefor.

5. The combination of claim 1; the bed structure being substantiallycounterbalanced for easy Alift and coveringthe truck when in loweredposition on the truck.

JOSEPH C. WILLIAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis 'patenti UNITED STATES PATENTS 4Cohen Apr. 30, 1940

